How much do you spend on maternity clothes?

[betsyab]

Just working on a budget, and wondering what people usually spend in total on maternity clothes to get you through a first pregnancy. Obviously there will be some climate variables, which is why I'm thinking of an average, 4 season climate.

Thanks!

[KrisM]

I didn't buy much new. I was able to borrow from friends and buy at consignment shops or mom2mom sales. Over the course of 3 kids, I did need 3 seasons worth, but for each kid I didn't need more than 1 or 2.

With DS1, I got buy with only winter stuff, as he was born in late April and I was working. I never needed shorts, etc. I spent maybe $200 with him, as I borrow most things.

With DD, I did buy 2 pairs of shorts and a few t-shirts. All were from mom2mom sales and I probably spent $20. She was born in June.

DS2 was born in mid-July, and I bought more t-shirts and another pair of shorts. I also needed new jeans as mine from DS1 had worn out. So, I spent about $60. Those jeans and t-shirts came from ebay.

I wore my regular clothes as long as possible to limit the seasons I had to buy in. I did get a belly band and it was about $30. Add that to the DS2 cost. That helped a lot.

[arivecchi]

Do you work? My work maternity clothes were the more expensive chunk. I work in a conservative place, so I needed suit-like clothing. That cost about $700. My non-work maternity clothes were probably about $500 for 1st pregnancy and about $100 for second one. I went a little nuts the first time and bought expensive maternity jeans and tops. There is no reason to do that though, although I have definitely gotten my $$$ worth for the jeans. If you can borrow from friends, go for it!

P.S. I wish I had discovered Target maternity clothing earlier. I got all of my non-work stuff from there for my 2nd preg.

[SnuggleBuggles]

As little as possible. 1st time around I had no one to borrow from and I did a lot of shopping at Kohl's and Target. 2nd time around I got more hand me downs but stuck with buying basics at Target, Old Navy and Kohl's. I just couldn't spend much on clothing I wouldn't use for long. Oh, and I had saved all my clothes from ds1 but b/c there was a 5y gap btw boys those clothes were out dated and I didn't use them.

Beth

[misshollygolightly]

I probably spent about $350-400 ($250 of which was a Motherhood Maternity gift card from a really generous family member). I also received a couple of maternity outfits as Christmas gifts from family members. I live in a pretty crazy climate and needed maternity clothes to get me through both a subzero winter and a 90+ degree summer, so that made a difference in how much I spent. I was able to buy a lot of things on sale, and I found my $ usually went farther at Old Navy or Target than at the Motherhood chain, even when it came to "professional" attire for teaching. I also made good use of non-maternity empire-waist shirts and sweaters, elastic-waist pajama pants (no need for maternity pjs), and non-maternity sweaters and cardigans which I layered over maternity tank tops (no need to button the sweaters or cardigans, so it didn't matter that they would never have covered my massive tum!). If you're on a budget, you may have good luck with Craigslist (I'm fairly petite and had a hard time finding small used maternity clothes, but it never hurts to check), taking a good/creative look at your own closet, borrowing from friends, etc. I'd encourage you to ask your family/friends (including DH) to consider getting you maternity clothes or gift cards in lieu of birthday/Christmas gifts.

[zag95]

I think I spent like under $200 total- I am a teacher and didn't need as many "work" clothes, because I could wear more casual things.

What I did get were:

Bella Band (black)
1 pr maternity jeans
4-5 maternity tops (from JcPenney)
Maternity underwear (which I hated and never wore!)
New bras and nursing bra (near the end :)

I was able to wear my regular jeans and pants until well past 30 weeks- because I didn't pooch as much- I also had some looser sweaters, vests, etc that I wore over my maternity tops. I was pregant from May- and delivered in Jan- we live in Oregon so the temps aren't as extreme.

I would search out JCPenney.com go to the outlet section.
Check with friends or consignment or craigslist- as maternity clothes typically don't get too worn!

GL and congrats!

[kozachka]

If you don't count larget size bras, which I was able to wear post-partum, I spent less than $200. I bought quality pants and jeans (by Japanese Weekend) that I wore all the time, a polo shirt from Target and exercise tank with build in bra from Old Navy. Plus a larger size pair of pants from Target that were not maternity. I did not work and lived in Northern CA so was able to get away with less. And I wore DS t-shirts at the end of the pregnancy. I was so happy to be done with maternity clothes :yay:

[citymama]

Bought: one pair of overalls from Pea in the Pod on sale at $25
Couple of pants/jeans from Old Navy: $30
2 Sweaters from ON that I lived in (shld have bought more): $40
Had to get a suit for a business meeting - one meeting! which set me back about $120 and doubled my maternity spending.

Inherited some maternity pants and a dress from a friend. Stretched out many of my regular tees, sweaters and fleece jackets instead of getting maternity versions. If I have another kid, I would invest in a few more pieces of maternity clothing.

Spent roughly $200 on maternity clothing and about the same on nursing clothing and bras!

[nrp]

I worked at a big law firm, so I had to spend quite a bit for my first pregnancy. I did have one piece of advice, though, as you're budgeting. Save a little money to buy something fun in the last month or two. If you are like me, you'll be so tired of wearing the same stuff and feeling enormous, so it is nice to be able to treat yourself to a new outfit to make yourself feel a little more put together.

[larig]

I got lucky about 3 months into my pregnancy (mid-to-late december) I happened upon an all maternity clothes 30 or 40% off sale at Old Navy. Since I work from home most days I can wear jeans every day (and usually do), so it was perfect. I unfortunately bought more than I actually wore, because some of the jeans I got I ended up not liking as I got bigger. Anyway, I ended up spending under $140 and got about 4 or 5 pairs of jeans, a dressier top (SS), a heavy sweatshirt, a couple of t-shirts. Then my mom insisted we got to JC Penney's and look for tops. She spent probably $60 for about 6 knit tops (some like t-shirts and others fancier knits). I later picked up some t-shirts from maternity store in mall (about 3 total--they were my favorite tshirts when I was pregnant) and a thin knit sweatshirt that was probably $50. Later I got a dress from old navy for a special occasion. It was on sale for about $20, at that time I also bought a couple more knit tshirts--a total of about $50. And picked up a couple of pairs black drawstring cargo pants from target ($40--I can still wear these and they don't look maternity to me).

So, I guess I spent somewhere around $400-500 on my maternity clothes, which were almost entirely casual clothes. I think, however, I wore most consistently the black pants and 2 pairs of jeans (I just did a lot of laundry) and tshirts (the tight fitting kind, because I hated feeling like I was wearing a tent) and one of the two sweatshirt things I wore most every day here (in PNW) through the mild winter from December to June when DS was born).

So I really got by on very little. I just didn't realize at the time I was buying the stuff how little I would actually need (and like) some of the stuff as the pregnancy progressed.

[goldenpig]

I spent a lot on maternity clothes at Japanese Weekend (probably at least $500)--they have comfortable and stylish work clothes and their jeans are great too. They're a little on the expensive side (I think each piece was around $50-80 but they often go on sale), but well made and a good value. I have to confess I still wear the tops even though I'm back to prepregnancy size, just because they look good (and they have hidden nursing openings which is helpful for NIP). And if I get pregnant again I'll just keep wearing them for the next one. I did buy a few casual items at Gap/Old Navy and still wear them too (why don't they make ALL clothes with elastic waistbands :))

[Sugar Magnolia]

Dh budgeted $500 for me to spend on maternity clothes this pregnancy. I have about $150 left and plan on buying some new shoes soon. I had no clothes left from my previous pregnancies and bought everything on sale from GAP or Old Navy.

[smiles33]

I am fortunate in that I have a long torso and got away with non-maternity shirts up until I was 6 or 7 months' pregnant for both pregnancies. Thus, I mostly stock up on maternity pants and dresses. For my first pregnancy, I loaded up on work clothes at a large Marshall's store near me that carried a lot of Carole Little Maternity pants, dresses, etc. I probably spent about $150 on work clothes as most items were $20 or less and pretty great quality. As for casual clothing, I bought a few casual maternity shirts and sweaters at the Gap. I didn't like Motherhood Maternity's quality or Old Navy (though I did get my maternity underwear from there).

This time around, I reused much of what I had last time, but also joined a local Mom's club that has a "Maternity closet" where you can take whatever you want (with the idea you eventually return it for another member to use). I picked up capri pants, a little black maternity dress, dark denim jeans, and a few cute tanks. That great membership benefit alone was worth the $25 annual membership fee! I also ended up wearing some non-maternity BCBG empire dresses ($40 at TJMaxx) that fit even now at almost 38 weeks!

[hellokitty]

I bought almost all of my maternity clothes through Old Navy or Target clearance, this is my third pregnancy and all together I've probably spent about $300 on true maternity clothes. You are lucky to be pg now, b/c sooo many of the current fashions (non-maternity) can be worn, even while you are pregnant. This was NOT the case when I was pregnant for the first time six yrs ago, kwim?

I've really utilized the versatility of the fashion these days (long shirts, empire waist tops, cross over tops which can also be used when I am nursing the baby, stretchy skirts/bottoms) and have bought a lot of regular clothes that are working out just great for me as maternity clothes. Better yet, I can still wear this stuff AFTER I have my baby, b/c it doesn't scream maternity. I would go that route if I were you. Really, for maternity clothes, I think the best investment are comfortable maternity bottoms. The under the belly kind suck, I don't know why they even make them, I need over the belly (so I am not constantly hiking up my pants), BUT the problem is you need to get to the point of your pregnancy where you are BIG enough to wear the over the belly panel, kwim? So, for stuff like that I would wait until you are further along, unless you can find it for cheap now. I guess I have been lucky that I can usually get away wearing stretchy non-maternity bottoms for a good part of my pregnancy.

[kijip]

I spent a few hundred dollars, including a coat and work clothes.

When T was born I only spent about 150ish, sales at Old Navy and Gap + used. But back then I worked in a 100% casual environment and was also a student, whereas when F was born I was running an organization and had to look much nicer everyday.

[melbb]

I don't remember how much I spent on my first, but I know I wanted to spend as little as possible. My work accepted casual attire, and I was able to get by for at least 5 months without wearing much maternity stuff. I had a lot of regular dresses that didn't have fitted waists. I bought most of what I needed at Target, TJ Maxx and Old Navy. I doubt I spent more than $200. This time around, I live in a different climate. Only had 2 pairs of shorts, which wasn't going to cut it with 5 months of 90+ degree days. So, I think I spent $250 this time, mostly tanks and shorts, bought some stuff off eBay, too. I will have one month of winter to deal with, so I bought some sweaters dirt cheap at Kohls. I am not working, so I don't have to worry about that.